Enola Holmes 2 review: A game cast carries the superb sequel - Digital Trends

The concealed to creating a bully sequel is simply a enigma that has stumped much than a fewer filmmakers and studios implicit the years. Hollywood’s past is peppered with follow-up films that couldn’t lucifer their predecessors’ success, but each present and then, a movie finds each the close clues.

And occasionally — arsenic is the lawsuit with Enola Holmes 2 — they adjacent marque it look, well… elementary.

Growing up

Directed by Harry Bradbeer from a publication by Jack Thorne, Enola Holmes 2 brings backmost Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things) arsenic the titular, aspiring detective who often finds herself successful the shadiness of her celebrated brother, Sherlock, played again by Man of Steel prima Henry Cavill. The movie finds Enola struggling to get her fledgling detective bureau disconnected the crushed portion immersed successful a missing-person lawsuit with ties to the highest levels of authorities and industry.

The archetypal Enola Holmes did a fantastic occupation of introducing Brown arsenic the rubric character, whose clever, perceptive quality was lone matched by her societal awkwardness and knack for getting into trouble. Brown made the relation her own, handling some the enactment and the wit with ease, and showing large chemistry with not lone Cavill but besides the film’s audience, acknowledgment to Enola’s affinity for breaking the 4th partition and bringing viewers into her tale.

All of that continues — and continues to turn — successful Enola Holmes 2, which feels similar a earthy hold of the archetypal film, from the communicative itself to Enola’s narration with the surrounding characters and the audience. There’s a comfortableness level successful the franchise present that makes Enola consciousness similar an aged person you’re checking successful on, and she has a heck of a communicative to archer you.

Enola Holmes 2. Henry Cavill arsenic Sherlock Holmes, Millie Bobby Brown arsenic Enola Holmes, Louis Partridge arsenic Tewkesbury. Cr. Alex Bailey/Netflix © 2022

Sherlock and Enola

The prevailing themes successful 2020’s Enola Holmes centered connected her tendency to asseverate her independence, and Enola Holmes 2 has Brown’s quality present struggling to inquire for and judge assistance. It’s a thematic script-flip for the character, but it’s handled smartly and manages to debar diminishing what Enola’s accomplished arsenic an autarkic pistillate successful a frustratingly patriarchal world.

That’s a delicate enactment to walk, but Brown and the film’s originative squad find the communicative equilibrium required to bash so.

Their efforts are supported by a nuanced show from Cavill, whose mentation of Sherlock gets importantly much surface clip and quality improvement this clip around, but never overshadows Brown and her portrayal of Enola. Cavill’s Sherlock is conscionable arsenic intellectually distant and socially awkward arsenic Enola, but he’s astute capable to recognize that by being a man, the aforesaid attributes that gain him admiration and respect enactment against his sister.

Cavill’s Sherlock isn’t an overtly affectional character, instead, his sentiments and loyalties are explored done his enactment with Enola. It’s a clever mode to instill warmth and bosom successful a quality known for being comparatively cold, and it’s handled with an appropriately brushed interaction by Cavill and the film’s originative team.

The crippled is afoot

Given the Holmes-ian instauration of the movie — arsenic filtered done writer Nancy Springer’s Enola Holmes novels, which were adapted for the movies — it’s a small astonishing that the weakest constituent of Enola Holmes 2 is its cardinal mystery.

Enola’s escapade sweeps her into a immense conspiracy involving a missing woman, a matchstick factory, and the British government, but the transportation betwixt each the parties progressive remains somewhat opaque adjacent aft the 3rd act’s big, revelatory scene. Although Enola pulls backmost the curtain and reveals the villains, the communicative ne'er rather delivers the benignant of “A-ha!” infinitesimal we’ve travel to expect from tales acceptable successful and astir the satellite of Sherlock Holmes. It’s a spot disappointing, certainly, but the film’s large performances — which besides see a villainous inspector played by David Thewlis and returning characters played by Susie Wokoma and Helena Bonham Carter — assistance Enola Holmes 2 whenever the communicative gets bogged down successful its ain mystery.

Fun, funny, and impressively clever, Enola Holmes 2 is the uncommon sequel that not lone does good by its predecessor but expands connected the franchise’s satellite successful meaningful ways. The film’s finale sets the signifier for much stories to travel for Enola — and Sherlock, for that substance — and gives its fans plentifulness of reasons to look guardant to joining them.

Directed by Harry Bradbeer, Enola Holmes 2 premieres November 4 connected Netflix. 

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